Samudera’s 3rd quarter profit slumps 80%

Samudera’s 3rd quarter profit slumps 80%    Singapore-based Samudera Shipping Line reported a 80.4 percent drop in third quarter net income to S$4 million ($2.6 million) from S$20.6 million last year.
   Quarterly revenue dropped 6.7 percent to S$164 million ($105.1 million), due to a decline in container freight rates and the appreciation of the Singapore Dollar against the U.S. dollar, Samudera said.
   Third quarter container volume rose 2.6 percent to 336,849 TEUs.
   Samudera will drop its China-India-Middle East (CIX) service in the fourth quarter as well as reducing the number of ships it deploys on the China-Singapore-India (CSI) service.
   'The group continues to review the profitability and feasibility of its existing services,' Samudera said.
   Looking ahead, 'the group expects freight rates in the container shipping business to remain competitive, owing to the scheduled delivery of newly built container vessels in the industry,' Samudera said.